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| Keynote Speaking Services |  | If you know of any corporation, association, non-profit organization or women's group that is looking for a dynamic, inspiring, and funny motivational speaker for its next event, please pass along my information. I would be most grateful!
Click here to watch my demo video! | 
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| Award-winning Book | 
Royal Palm Literary Award Winner
Living Now Book Award Winner | FEATURED READER RESPONSE
"This book is fabulous. It is everything that every woman thinks, but never says out loud. At times, I thought I was reading about myself! Thank you for having the guts to be so incredibly open to us all, Theresa! "
You can purchase Opening the Kimono on my web site, Amazon, or your favorite local bookstore.
If you have already read it, I would be most grateful if you would tell a friend about it and write a 5-star Review for Amazon.
Thank you for your support!
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| Daily Dose of Mojo |  | Theresa offers a short inspirational email called the Daily Dose of Mojo which can be lovingly delivered to your inbox every day. If you want a shot of Theresa's motivation every day of the week, register for the Daily Dose!
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Monthly Message: Creating Space |
I apologize for having to resend this month's Rose Report. My email service provider, Constant Contact, recently did an upgrade which affected the way in which many users could see my email. The problem has been fixed so you should be able to read it now. If you no longer wish to receive The Rose Report, please click the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email. Thank you!
Fall is my favorite time of the year. The changing leaves and dropping temperatures remind me of the perpetual cycle of seeding, cultivating, harvesting, and resting that both nature and humans experience. This Fall has truly been a time of harvest for both Michael and me, and we are eternally grateful for the bounty! My national keynote speaking biz is ever-growing, and I think I have actually figured out how to do this job! As a natural-born preacher, teacher, cheerleader, and actor, I have been able to figure out the on-stage part pretty easily. However, over the last years I have struggled A LOT trying to figure out how to do the marketing and administration tasks to make professional speaking a job and not merely a hobby. Through many trials and even more errors, I think I've finally figured out the ingredients and recipe required to get in front of as many people as possible to share the mojo. Blessedly, my basket is getting fuller!
This season is also bringing with it an opportunity for me to reexamine how I want to be working and what I want to create. The prospect of writing my second book has been dancing in my head for several months, and it always pains me when I finish conducting a keynote and a group of people come over to me to purchase the book of my "Finding Your Mojo" program I just delivered. On more than one occasion I have pointed to my noggin and said, "It's up here. I just have to find the time to take it from my head to my hands." After that happened one too many times, I recently made the decision to stop pussyfooting around and start writing the darn thing already.
When I was on a business trip a few weeks ago, I wrote like a fiend. In three short writing sessions, I penned over 7500 words! Since I already know the content of the book, the sentences were flowing out of me like rain. It felt sooooooo good! Alas, when I returned home to my busy life with duties and distractions, the literary rainstorm stopped and the manuscript has been gathering dust in MacDaddy's memory bank.
When I wrote Opening the Kimono, I needed to consciously make space for it to be written or it would have never gotten done. I made the difficult decision to close my healing center, stop my private practice, and dramatically decrease my teaching schedule. It was the only way I could find the time to write! With my second book starting to percolate, I need to do the same thing.
I am meditating on creating space in my life for those activities that are most important to me. Every morning, I envision having enough time to make at least twenty-five phone calls to prospective clients, write the handful of proposals that stem from those calls, perform the various keynotes across town or across country, respond to emails and voice mails, move my body in a joyful way (i.e. hooping!), get outside for some fresh air, spend a few minutes in quiet contemplation, and of course, enjoy my free time with Michael and Emma. That is my ideal day.
I'll be honest, some days are better than others. Some days I am in perpetual response mode where I don't make the calls I need, sit in my chair all day long click-click-clicking away at non-essential activities (I'm talking to you, Facebook!), and get depressed because I had no time to do the activities I really wanted to do. However, there are more and more days that go by where I am in command of my day and create it the way I wish. Through visualization, tough decision-making and commitment, I am consciously creating more time to write my book and less time for distractions.
One way I have found to do that is to get rid of anything that may not be in direct alignment with my goals. That approach has forced me to make some difficult, yet ultimately beneficial decisions. First, I have decided to stop writing my popular and oh-so-fun-to-pen monthly column called "Sex and the Suburbs" for Creative Loafing newspaper. While I enjoyed dipping into my naughty side every month, I found that it just took too much of my time and didn't really fit into my vision of where I was going. Second, I have dramatically decreased my time on social media and surfing. While I love to see what my 400+ friends are doing rightthisverymoment, I found that it took up way too much of my time. Finally, I have begun planning my week and identifying goals that I want to accomplish each day. By having specific objectives for each day rather than just living in reactive mode, I am discovering that I am far more likely to attain my goals. My system isn't perfect, but it seems to be working for me.
I'm working harder than I ever have in my whole life, but I am also much happier than I have been in a long time. I attribute this balance of productivity and happiness to the simple act of making space for the really important things: Spirit, self-care, family, essential work activities and creative expression. Sometimes we need to clean out the non-essential clutter in order to make room for new things to enter into our lives, whether it is a new book, a new relationship, a new job, or a whole new life.
What are those tasks, those thoughts, or those unhealthy patterns that you know you should get rid of in order to make room for other things? Are you ready to make space? Yes, I know letting go is painful, but it is the only way we truly grow. Please know that I am with you all the way! In your quiet moments at the end of each day, ask your Spiritual Source for strength and guidance, and trust that everything will unfold exactly as it should.
Thank you for your ongoing support, and I hope you have a fabulous, colorful, bountiful October!
Blessings,
Theresa
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Under the Dome: What's New at LHSC |
 I will be performing this month's Celebration Service at Lake Harriet Spiritual Community on Sunday, October 17th at 10:30am. The concept of Presence has been a big part of my life lately, and I want to do a service on Enjoying the Moment: Receiving the Present from the Present. Through the wise teachings of Eckhart Tolle, Leonard Jacobsen, Jyoti and the Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers and the supremely insightful Emma Rose, I am learning how being present in every moment -- RIGHT NOW -- is the key to unlocking ourselves from the self-imposed prison of worry, fear, anger, and blame. My service next month will be focused on how to remain present during the difficult times, and what we can do to reap the benefits of living a consciously present life.
 I am pleased to announce that my musical guest will be Stew "Blue" Blouin! "Blue", as he likes to be called, has performed with various Jazz combos in small clubs around Chicago before he moved to the Twin Cities in 1996. He is now recognized as one of the leading male Jazz vocalists around, performing as featured vocalist with the 52 piece Minnesota Freedom Band at the University of Minnesota, performing a one man Jazz show at downtown Minneapolis's Jazzmine's supper club, and occasionally playing at the Midtown Global Market on Thursday evenings. In addition to his velvety vocals, Blue often accompanies himself on the alto or soprano saxophone and flute. I can't wait to hear what Blue will play for us at LHSC!
Come out and join us under the dome for a morning of inspiration, meditation, and music! Make sure to stop by and say hello after the service.
Lake Harriet Spiritual Community
4401 Upton Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55410
612-922-4272
www.lakeharrietspiritualcommunity.com |
 If you have read Opening the Kimono or attended any of my workshops, you are undoubtedly aware that I have a strong affinity for both Sedona, Arizona and the sacred Native American ceremony known as the sweat lodge. When James Arthur Ray, the wildly popular self-help guru and star of "The Secret", was found to have led a sweat lodge that caused the deaths of three people last year, I immediately felt a sense of anger and betrayal. In fact, I wrote a blog called "In Defense of Sweat Lodges" in which I shared my very strong opinion of Mr. Ray and the damage he did to a practice for which I hold dear.
Last month, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to a new book called Tragedy in Sedona: My Life in James Arthur Ray's Inner Circle. The author, Connie Joy, courageously writes about her experiences with Ray and the 27 events in which she and her husband either participated or for which they volunteered, including two sweat lodges. Needless to say, I couldn't put it down.
Tragedy in Sedona validated my belief that James Arthur Ray was a great teacher who allowed greed and fame to transform him into a meglomaniacal, money-hungry powermonger who systematically disregarded the well-being of his followers. Ms. Roy's authentic account of her experiences in Ray's inner circle gave me a better understanding as to what really happened in that deadly sweat lodge and why bright, conscious people could have been pulled into his dangerous web. Her writing is honest, from the heart, and comprehensive. It is an unflinching look at the Good, the Bad, and the Very Very Ugly of one of the golden boys of the New Age movement.
I highly recommend Tragedy in Sedona for any spiritual seeker! Yes, it will anger you. But it will also enlighten you and educate you. James Arthur Ray demonstrated the destructive impact of moving to the dark side of one's soul. Let us never forget.
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